In Tom Crean's Defense...

[JSHoosier 19,580]

Although I wouldnt have admitted this immediately after the Iowa loss, I agree - to an extent.

We were projected to end up 10th or lower in B1G, and to win half the number of games we won. Compared to that, Crean has done a great job this season. The lack of bigs isn't necessarily his fault, as I'm assuming that there were VERY slim pickings left after Vonleh left last year (likely the reason why Priller and April were offered), with exception of Holt whom I think fans will realize was a steal, as he develops.

We return Yogi, JBJ, Troy, Rojo and the rest of the core, drop the dead weight (*cough* Stan *cough*), and get Thon and/or Bryant (Yes, I know getting either is a stretch, let alone both - let me dream) and were a top 10 team next year. We get a decent, defensive big and develop April, were still solid.

Point is, let Crean have next year to prove himself. Seriously doubt theres any chance he's gone next year or year after unless something absolutely crazy happens.

I love the fanbase and all its insanity/passion, but we gotta chill out.

I still don't see how anyone can objectively say it.  We're currently tied for 7th, sole possession of 7th is the best we can do and we were projected to finish 9th by some outlets so he is not outperforming projections by much.  We're once again playing our worst at the end of the season, can't definitively say the team is any better than game 1, and look absolutely awful in what was supposed to be the easy part of our schedule.  Not to mention IF we make the tournament, and that is no guarantee, this pathetic excuse of a "defense" will prevent us from doing anything unless we can somehow string together games of hitting like 20 threes.  We were projected to suck, and we're bad; not much difference.

 

This was supposed to be the year he proved himself.  We read on this board the entire off-season how this is the kind of team Crean wants and that'd he'd show he's a good coach.  Well, the results speak for themselves and it's not pretty.  The onus should be on him because this was supposed to be the kind of team he wants, and it's an indictment of his ability.  If this was a test, he failed.  If this was a chance to prove himself they only thing he proved is that he is exactly what his detractors say he is, mediocre at best and bad at worst.  This isn't a good coaching job, it's a mediocre-to-bad coach being mediocre-to-bad.

 

There shouldn't be any defending him at this point.  There shouldn't be any "wait till next season".  IF he got a next season, which I don't think he really deserves, it should be with the full understanding that we are not going to reach greatness with him because he simply isn't good enough.  It should be with full understanding that he is nothing but a holdover until we can get a home run.  There shouldn't be any "let him prove himself", because he has proven the detractors right.

[lelgar4 223]

I still don't see how anyone can objectively say it. We're currently tied for 7th, sole possession of 7th is the best we can do and we were projected to finish 9th by some outlets so he is not outperforming projections by much. We're once again playing our worst at the end of the season, can't definitively say the team is any better than game 1, and look absolutely awful in what was supposed to be the easy part of our schedule. Not to mention IF we make the tournament, and that is no guarantee, this pathetic excuse of a "defense" will prevent us from doing anything unless we can somehow string together games of hitting like 20 threes. We were projected to suck, and we're bad; not much difference.

This was supposed to be the year he proved himself. We read on this board the entire off-season how this is the kind of team Crean wants and that'd he'd show he's a good coach. Well, the results speak for themselves and it's not pretty. The onus should be on him because this was supposed to be the kind of team he wants, and it's an indictment of his ability. If this was a test, he failed. If this was a chance to prove himself they only thing he proved is that he is exactly what his detractors say he is, mediocre at best and bad at worst. This isn't a good coaching job, it's a mediocre-to-bad coach being mediocre-to-bad.

There shouldn't be any defending him at this point. There shouldn't be any "wait till next season". IF he got a next season, which I don't think he really deserves, it should be with the full understanding that we are not going to reach greatness with him because he simply isn't good enough. It should be with full understanding that he is nothing but a holdover until we can get a home run. There shouldn't be any "let him prove himself", because he has proven the detractors right.

Check my second post on the first page. I basically said the same thing. I think we have to keep him (or put up with) until we are in a guaranteed position with a better coach. Again, I am not a Crean fan or supporter, but he's the best thats realistically available. For now.

By "let him prove himself," I really meant give him next year bc we likely aren't going to find anyone worthwhile to replace him this offseason. Not defending him, just posting what I think is the most logical thing to do, in regard to keeping the program from crashing and burning again.

[Hoosiers High Life 278]

No one should be defending crean..... Sure he has brought the program up a little bit but it's not About that. It's a what have you done lately kind of situation and that my friends says it all. He needs to move on!!!!

[JSHoosier 19,580]

Check my second post on the first page. I basically said the same thing. I think we have to keep him (or put up with) until we are in a guaranteed position with a better coach. Again, I am not a Crean fan or supporter, but he's the best thats realistically available. For now.

By "let him prove himself," I really meant give him next year bc we likely aren't going to find anyone worthwhile to replace him this offseason. Not defending him, just posting what I think is the most logical thing to do, in regard to keeping the program from crashing and burning again.

The program would be in better shape than it was when he got here.  You expect players to be loyal to their coach, but we can't let that force our hand; that's exactly how we ended up with Mike Davis, we were afraid of players leaving.

 

We have to make calls and reach out to know for sure if we can get someone better right now or not, not just assume.  When you assume you just make an @$$ out of you and me.  Make no mistake, this program has everything a coach needs to succeed and it's still a step up from many jobs out there.

[GloryDays 5,892]

oh, Laz, that's the Cliff's notes version. I was trying to spare the readers time and vision.

Snowed in .Type away Fleek!

[Ranger78 1,293]

I would give Coach Crean the buy out money and thank him for directing IU through one of it's darkest periods. At that point, I would do everything under the sun to get Brad Stevens. It's a standard bell curve and unfortuantly we've reached our peak with Coach Crean and we're now on a downward descend.

 

I like Coach Crean and I truly wanted him to succeed at IU, but the writing is on the wall.

 

We have the players to play top 50 defense and we're hovering around 250. To me that's unacceptable and falls directly on the head coach.

[TomPritchard25 526]

"Prove himself" ? What has prohibited him from proving himself the last 4 years? He's had no unusual set backs that other coaches DONT deal with.

Excuse- we're young. -> Manage your classes better.
Excuse- the shots just didn't fall tonight --> lets get a viable inside game then sometime near year 5-8.
Excuse- Cody & Noah left early. -> Indiana isn't the only school that deals with early departures.

Excuse- Next year we have help coming. -> why hasn't the "help" arrived in the last 2 years?

reasons to be fired
1) Failure to get past Sweet 16 in 6 attempts.
2) Lack of X's and O's knowledge.
3) inability to fill classes steadily.
4) unable to build a 4 year big man
5) inability to recruit in state successfully
6) throwing his players under the bus-often
7) going 4-8 against Northwestern in tenure.
8) never making a run in the NCAA tourney
9) whatever the reason behind a massive amount of transfers may be.

10) THE MAN TOOK THE "D" out of INDIANA!!!

[HoosierSadaseci 2,258]

A team that doesn't cherish the basketball, and doesn't know how to play defense is the best season Crean has coached here? Yikes!

[OliviaPope40 6,299]

As of right now his job is safe even if the masses don't think it should be.

[moyemayhem 1,269]

I've been a Crean detracter for a long time now, but I can also acknowledge that prior to these last couple games, I would have called this season his best coaching performance at Indiana.  However, I think that speaks a lot more to his coaching ability (or lack thereof) than it does to me giving him a pat on the back.

[JSHoosier 19,580]

I've been a Crean detracter for a long time now, but I can also acknowledge that prior to these last couple games, I would have called this season his best coaching performance at Indiana.  However, I think that speaks a lot more to his coaching ability than it does to me giving him a pat on the back.

I'd have a hard time saying we looked good for a consistent stretch at any point in conference play though.  Seems all through conference we'd look good for a game then turn around and look bad.  We got 4 wins in a row but I thought in some of those we didn't look particularly good, with Maryland being the exception.  Since that stretch we've mostly looked unimpressive.

[Alford Bailey 12,259]

"Prove himself" ? What has prohibited him from proving himself the last 4 years? He's had no unusual set backs that other coaches DONT deal with.

Excuse- we're young. -> Manage your classes better.
Excuse- the shots just didn't fall tonight --> lets get a viable inside game then sometime near year 5-8.
Excuse- Cody & Noah left early. -> Indiana isn't the only school that deals with early departures.

Excuse- Next year we have help coming. -> why hasn't the "help" arrived in the last 2 years?

reasons to be fired
1) Failure to get past Sweet 16 in 6 attempts.
2) Lack of X's and O's knowledge.
3) inability to fill classes steadily.
4) unable to build a 4 year big man
5) inability to recruit in state successfully
6) throwing his players under the bus-often
7) going 4-8 against Northwestern in tenure.
8) never making a run in the NCAA tourney
9) whatever the reason behind a massive amount of transfers may be.

10) THE MAN TOOK THE "D" out of INDIANA!!!

 

"Prove himself" ? What has prohibited him from proving himself the last 4 years? He's had no unusual set backs that other coaches DONT deal with.

Excuse- we're young. -> Manage your classes better.
Excuse- the shots just didn't fall tonight --> lets get a viable inside game then sometime near year 5-8.
Excuse- Cody & Noah left early. -> Indiana isn't the only school that deals with early departures.

Excuse- Next year we have help coming. -> why hasn't the "help" arrived in the last 2 years?

reasons to be fired
1) Failure to get past Sweet 16 in 6 attempts.
2) Lack of X's and O's knowledge.
3) inability to fill classes steadily.
4) unable to build a 4 year big man
5) inability to recruit in state successfully
6) throwing his players under the bus-often
7) going 4-8 against Northwestern in tenure.
8) never making a run in the NCAA tourney
9) whatever the reason behind a massive amount of transfers may be.

10) THE MAN TOOK THE "D" out of INDIANA!!!

"INIANA" is grounds for termination.

[CR3AMnCR1MS0N 1,867]

Tom Crean doesn't have a defense

[CR3AMnCR1MS0N 1,867]

Tom Crean doesn't have a defense

For anyone who on the slightest chance may have missed it, yes, pun intended

[IU Bud 445]

If all Crean had to do was coach this team, I would say he has done as well as could be expected.

Since he is also responsible for assembling this team, I would say he has done a terrible job this year. Without a real post presence recruited for next year, I don't see any improvement coming.

Without Cody coming to IU, we would have already hired another coach.

[HoosierSadaseci 2,258]

As of right now his job is safe even if the masses don't think it should be.

Not to get into a bickerfest, but he's not safe, especially if we miss out on the tourney.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 81,149]

The defense rests and asks the judge for a directed verdict.  GUILTY as charged and sentenced to go coach somewhere else.

[mamasa 14,836]

I really hope that our fan base will show respect and thanks when Crean leaves. He did a lot for our program and doesn't deserve the hostilities and ridicule I fear he'll face

[Hovadipo 52,982]

I really hope that our fan base will show respect and thanks when Crean leaves. He did a lot for our program and doesn't deserve the hostilities and ridicule I fear he'll face

Well said. I have nothing but respect for the man. He's done it the right way. Don't be UK fans about this, guys.

[Ranger78 1,293]

I think he's done a good job coaching the offense end and at times we've looked really good with spacing and ball movement.

On the defense side of the ball, he gets an F. Great teams need both and good teams more times than not play good defense.

That's why good college coaches stress defense and with this team I'm shocked defense was not the main topic every practice, so I wonder why we're so God awful on defense...